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Film review: Breaking down Jimmy Garoppolo’s uneven performance in Week 2

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© Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports


Through two weeks, Jimmy Garoppolo has been subpar.

He ranks 24th in passing yards (467), tied for 16th in touchdowns (three), and has tied for the third-most interceptions in the league (four). He ranks 30th in completion percentage (55.9) and 26th in passer rating (77.4).

It makes sense that an uneven start has some people disappointed, considering his unblemished starting record entering 2018, how he led the 49ers to a five-game winning streak to close the 2017 season, the $137.5 million contract he signed in February, and all the buzz surrounding the 49ers ahead of one of their most anticipated seasons in years.

It’s also convenient to overlook a simple fact: Garoppolo has nine career NFL starts. He won eight of them. He is working with three new offensive linemen this season. Four of San Francisco’s five activated wide receivers in Sunday’s win are either rookies or second-year players. Jerick McKinnon and Marquise Goodwin, San Francisco’s most dynamic offensive weapons, have been injured.

What Garoppolo and the 49ers offense showed in the opening two weeks resemble growing pains more than alarm bells. And despite the 26-year-old quarterback’s slow start, the 49ers sit at 1-1, which most would have accepted considering the opening two matchups at Minnesota and home against Detroit.

Some of the Garoppolo criticism is warranted. He looked trigger happy in Week 1, then gun shy in Week 2. He struggled to find a rhythm in San Francisco’s 30-27 win over the Lions. Fortunately for the 49ers, their rushing attack gained 190 yards, accounting for nearly 55 percent of the offensive production.

One of the biggest complaints of his Week-2 performance was taking six sacks, three of which came in the red zone. The Lions regularly dropped seven into coverage and still got to Garoppolo, despite not having Pro Bowl defensive end Ezekiel Ansah available. After San Francisco’s recent victory, Kyle Shanahan said he thought Garoppolo took too many sacks. One day later, Shanahan explained the issue is a group effort.

“Jimmy might have had an opportunity (to throw the ball) on a couple of those, but definitely not on all six,” Shanahan said Monday. “(The Lions) did a good job covering and a good job getting to us when he did hold onto it because of that.”

The 49ers started the game on a positive note, forcing a punt on Detroit’s opening drive, then marching downfield on their first offensive possession. Garoppolo completed 10 of his first 11 passes. Once they entered the red zone, though, the drive stalled. Garoppolo took two consecutive sacks, and San Francisco settled for a field goal.

On the first sack, the 49ers had the ball on the Detroit 10-yard line. They deployed 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, and two receivers). Alfred Morris blocked George Kittle’s man rather than accounting for the middle linebacker swinging around the edge. Meanwhile, neither Pierre Garcon nor Dante Pettis got open, and by the time their routes progressed, Garoppolo was under pressure. He took an eight-yard sack.

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One of Garoppolo’s issues Sunday was his tendency to focus on one receiver rather than complete his progressions. He needs time in order to do that, but he was slower than usual in surveying the field.

On the ensuing play, Garoppolo took a nine-yard sack. The 49ers were deployed in a shotgun formation with four receivers. The play was a bust from all ends — Garoppolo sunk into the pocket, never looked to the right side, pass-protection wilted, and none of the five receiving options gained any separation. Robbie Gould later made a field goal.

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Fast forward to the second quarter with fewer than six minutes remaining. On third and eight at the Detroit 14-yard line, the 49ers gave up another sack. And again, Garoppolo parked himself in the pocket as Detroit blanked the San Francisco receivers. Former 49ers linebacker Eli Harold busted through Joe Staley and Laken Tomlinson for the sack. Gould subsequently connected on his second field goal, and his 28th straight, setting a new franchise record.

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Garoppolo’s fourth sack was partly his fault, partly right guard Mike Person’s. On second and 10 with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, linebacker Christian Jones faked a pass rush, briefly dropped back into coverage, then rushed again. He fooled Person, who double-teamed Mike McGlinchey’s man. At some point, though, Garoppolo’s internal clock must ring, signaling to either scramble or throw the ball away.

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Garoppolo was sacked twice more, but he also made a couple tight throws with limited air space. He was one of the best quarterbacks under pressure in the final five games of the 2017 season. His quick release helps combat swarming pass-rushing.

In the clip below, he fit a throw in a tight window to Kittle for 17 yards to start the second quarter.

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Garoppolo’s best throw of the day came at a crucial time. The Lions had strung together consecutive touchdown drives of 79 and 80 yards to narrow San Francisco’s lead to three points with 3:27 left. The 49ers ran a play-action on the first play of their following drive. Garoppolo found Garcon, who beat his defender at the line before hauling in the catch over the middle for 13 yards.

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Later this drive, Garoppolo nearly cost the 49ers the game with an interception that was wiped away because of a holding penalty away from the pass. Fittingly, Garoppolo’s final snap— aside from the kneel to end the game— Sunday resulted in a sack, forcing the 49ers to punt with two minutes remaining.

In total, Garoppolo completed 18 of 26 attempts for 206 yards and two touchdowns on the day. That’s much better than his performance in Week 1, completing 15 of 33 passes for 261 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Yet Shanahan said postgame that the passing game needs to improve, and he’s right. But it’s not a singular issue.

The 49ers have surrendered 16 quarterback hits (seventh-most in the league) and nine sacks (fourth-most) through two games. Last year, in Garoppolo’s five starts, the 49ers allowed just eight sacks.

San Francisco’s receivers struggled against the Lions secondary that ranked 27th in passing defense last year. Shanahan emphasized Detroit’s aggressive man-coverage as reason for giving the 49ers receivers trouble. Garcon, who led the team with four catches for 57 yards, was the only one who consistently overcame physicality. The idea of 49ers receivers failing to beat physical man-coverage is something to monitor moving forward, considering they practice against Robert Saleh’s Cover-3 zone scheme.

Garoppolo hasn’t looked like his 2017 self, but it’s early. He has particularly struggled in red-zone situations and on third downs. His 28.2 passer rating on third down is the worst in the league — by 13.2 points. His 53.8 red-zone completion percentage ranks 19th in the league. Those numbers should improve with the return of Goodwin, whose quad injury isn’t expected to have long-term implications.

On Monday, Shanahan was asked whether there is carryover from one poor performance to the next for a young quarterback. His answer is a reminder that this project is still a work in progress, even if the winning expectation never changes.

“I think that’s something he’ll go through throughout this year,” Shanahan said. “We’ll go through it with him and we’ll learn as we go. You feel that. I can feel that to a degree after a game when you end up having six sacks like that.”